4 Popular Card Games that Have Only Gained More Popularity over the Years

When we talk about popular card games, Poker seems to be the first one to strike our minds. However, most of us forget that even though popular in the segment, it is not the only popular game in the lot.

For all the popularity that some card games enjoy, there are some that not only enjoy the same level of popularity but have become an essential part of our tradition as well.

Let’s look at a few games that really hit the mark when it comes to card games:

Rummy

Rummy is a game that involves arranging same-suit cards in sequence and same-rank cards of different suits. The aim of this game is to create sequences of three or more cards of the same suit and/or sets of three or four cards of the same rank but different suits.

Some scholars, such as David Parlett, believe that the Mexican game of Conquian was the ancestor to what is known as rummy today. Interestingly, Conquian itself is derived from the Chinese game called Khanhoo.

The basic principle of rummy, i.e. drawing and discarding cards appeared in the 19th century in Chinese card games.

The game is incredibly popular with Indians and has become an important of family gatherings and festivals. In fact, the game is loved so much in India that you find people playing the game on the Diwali night, which is arguably the biggest festival in the country.

However, these days the game can even be played online where players can participate in tournaments and win cash prizes, making the game even more popular than it already was.

FreeCell

FreeCell comes standard on every Windows PC, which makes the game very popular with people who are fans of card games. It is a solitaire card game played with a standard 52-card deck. However, the game is different from other solitaire games in that in FreeCell there are rarely any deals that cannot be solved. Moreover, all the cards are dealt face up.

The game has its roots in a game called Eight Off, which has a lot of similarities with FreeCell. However, some people argue that the origins of FreeCell date back further than 1945 and it is inspired by a game called Napolean at St. Helena.

The objective of the game is fairly simple - you have to get all of the cards at hand in foundations. A foundation is an order in which the cards need to be arranged.

Every foundation has one suit, and the cards have to be in the following order in each one of them:

Ace>2>3>4>5>6>7>8>9>10> Jack>Queen>King.

Every move that you make in a game of Freecell is accounted for, and the system tracks how many moves you made to finish a game. It helps you track your performance and beat your previous best score.

Solitaire

Solitaire is another card game that is immensely popular with solo players. The game comes standard on PCs and requires a player to form sequences in order to win.

Games like Solitaire fall under the genre of puzzle-based card games, and therefore, there are no specific moves to win each game as each time the layout of the cards is different from the previous game.

In a game of Solitaire, there are tableau piles numbered 1-7, with the top card on the tableau always facing up and the cards below that facing down so that they aren’t visible to the player.

All the cards that remain once the tableau has been set are placed in the stock with their face down, essentially starting the game with empty foundations.

Solitaire is similar to Freecell, as the objective of the Solitaire, too, is to get all the cards in foundations.

Therefore, in Solitaire, too, you need to arrange the cards in the following order:

Ace>2>3>4>5>6>7>8>9>10> Jack>Queen>King

Hearts

Hearts is an evasion game played by 4 players. The game is often referred to as Black Lady, Black Maria, Black Widow and Slippery Bitch.

Hearts belongs to a family of trick-taking games known as Whist, which also includes games such as Bridge and Spades. However, Hearts is different from Bridge and Spades in that the objective of Hearts is to avoid certain penalty cards.

The game of Hearts originated from a game called Reversis, which was very popular in Spain back in the 1750s.

Hearts is one of the most popular card games across gaming sites on the Internet. The game owes its popularity to Microsoft to a great extent, which started selling Windows PCs with the pre-installed game of Hearts in the 1990s.

Games that fall in the category of solitaire games include Peg Solitaire and Mahjong Solitaire.

India is a culturally rich country with great diversity, and card games are an integral part of the Indian society at large. From Kashmir to Goa, no matter where you travel, you will find people playing one card game or another as part of their tradition and social life.

Not only do card games connect a country as vast as India, they also help communities thrive and grow by keeping their traditions alive and kicking.